UPDATE 2-Norway offers exploration licences in Arctic waters

OSLO, June 26 (Reuters) - Norway plans to award oil and gas
exploration drilling permits in up to 86 blocks next year,
mostly in the Arctic region where exploration is booming after
recent large discoveries.

The Norwegian Petroleum and Energy Ministry said on Tuesday
it was offering 72 blocks in the Barents Sea and 14 blocks in
the Norwegian Sea in its 22nd licensing round, scheduled to be
completed by the summer of 2013.

"We have seen very strong interest in the Arctic ... and the
oil industry is clearly moving north," Minister of Petroleum and
Energy Ola Borten Moe said.

The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated the Arctic holds
about 13 percent of the world's undiscovered conventional oil
and 30 percent of its undiscovered natural gas.

Norway signed a landmark deal in 2010 with Russia that
settled a decades-long border dispute and removed a major
potential obstacle.

"We are now making preparations to open the southern part of
the formerly disputed area, and we hope we can include that in
the 23rd licensing round," Moe said.

In January, 37 companies had nominated a total of 228 blocks
or parts of blocks in the 22nd licensing round, and 107 of these
blocks were nominated by two or more companies, the Norwegian
Petroleum Directorate said.

"The interest in exploring in the Barents Sea has increased
considerably after Statoil and the licence partners
found oil and gas on Skrugard in 2011," said Sissel Eriksen,
exploration director in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Last year's big Arctic discovery, the Skrugard and Havis
oilfields, are estimated to hold 400 million to 600 million
barrels of oil equivalent.

"This licensing round will contribute to maintaining the
activity level in this area and to clarifying the resource
potential in the Barents Sea," Eriksen added.

Beyond the energy resources, melting ice is opening Arctic
sea passages for longer periods each year, cutting thousands of
miles off trade routes between Europe and Asia.

"After the Skrugard and Havis findings, we expect intense
competition for areas of interest, and it is therefore essential
for us to deliver applications with high quality," he said.

Smaller Norwegian player Det norske, which has a
share in the giant Johan Sverdrup discovery in the mature North
Sea last year, said the firm was satisfied with the blocks
offered in the 22nd licensing round.

"They cover the areas we expected it would cover and we have
already acquired data, and work is underway in several areas in
the Barents Sea and we will be able to deliver good applications
before the deadline," Chief Executive Erik Haugane said.

"The 22nd round is critical to establish a greater diversity
in the Barents Sea, which the ministry seems to pave the way for
with the announced blocks," he added.
(Additional reporting by Camilla Knudsen; editing by Jason
Neely and Jane Baird)